“Insinuations about what? Something damaging to your reputation?”
“You got that right. The bastard made it seem like the reason I left town was because I’d dipped into company funds.” She expelled her breath in a frustrated rush. “I still can’t believe it. He made it look like I was guilty of the very thing he’d done. He was the one who embezzled money from the company.”
Eyes narrowed, Ryder stared at her and for a moment he said nothing, obviously shocked by what she’d just told him. “You were in partnership with this man?” he asked, his tone serious.
“Yes.”
“And he stole from the company yet you were the one who left town. Why?”
Blake didn’t look at Ryder. She dropped her gaze and stared at her clasped hands as they rested on the table. To hear him say it, it sounded so stupid. It was usually the guilty party who skipped town, not the innocent one. Any sane person would ask the very question that Ryder was asking.
And that was part of the problem. The fact that she’d suddenly left town had made it so easy for Jerome to fabricate stories. “I had my reasons,” she said, her voice low. How could she tell him how shocked and hurt she’d been when she found out how her husband-to-be had betrayed her trust? How could she share the fact that she’d been utterly devastated? She shook her head. “I trusted him,” she said simply, “with all my heart. When he turned around and stabbed me in the back I couldn’t deal with it. Maybe I should have stayed to fight it out with him but at the time I couldn’t. It was just…too much.”
That was as much as she was prepared to say. She’d probably said too much already. Ryder would just have to draw his own conclusions and if he thought she was a wimp then so be it.
But when he spoke again his voice was quiet, non-judgmental. “You had a partnership,” he said, “which means the business was yours just as much as it was his. You were prepared to walk away from that?”
She shook her head again but this time she raised her eyes to meet his. “I walked away because I needed time to deal with all that was happening. I would have gone back to deal with him, or at least to dissolve my side of the business, but I needed to be in a fantasy world for a while, one where the business, Jerome, none of that existed.” She tightened her lips then she sighed. “I went back to Dallas but I wasn’t ready.”
As if he understood what she was saying, Ryder nodded. “You do what you have to do in your own time. When you’re ready.” Then he reached out and placed his big hand over both of hers. “Just know that I’m here when you’re ready to deal with this. When it comes to attorneys I only work with the best.”
That brought a wan smile to her lips. She had no idea what business Ryder was in, to need the services of top-notch attorneys, but she was grateful for his show of interest in her problems. “When I’m ready to sue you’re the first person I’ll call.”
He smiled back. “You do that.” Then he withdrew his hand, leaving her feeling somehow bereft, and leaned back in his chair. She was surprised when the smile on his face was replaced by a serious look. “And speaking of the lawyers I work with, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Yes? What?” For some reason she felt a sudden twinge of apprehension.
“I’m going to be leaving soon. I have business I have to take care of, business that can’t wait any longer."
Blake drew in her breath and then she sat back, too, hoping he couldn’t see how much his words affected her. She’d been expecting this. She just hadn’t thought it would happen so soon. “When?” she asked, keeping her tone casual.
“Tomorrow.”
***
It was pretty early in the morning when Ryder heard Blake stirring. He heard a door close and then footsteps down the hallway and he could guess she was on her way down to start breakfast. He’d thought she would rest in, it being her first full day back, but he guessed he was wrong, which meant he’d better make a move, too. If Blake planned to open Beaumont’s for breakfast she would need his help.
A quick splash in the bathroom had him downstairs within fifteen minutes of Blake’s descent. She was sitting on one of the bar stools, her back to him. “Mornin’,” he said as he walked into the room. “Breakfast assistant at your service, boss.”
At the sound of his voice she swiveled around on the stool and gave him a smile, but it was a weak one. “Morning back to you. You’re ready for work? Aren’t you supposed to be leaving today?”
“Yup, but I can’t leave without getting you through the morning rush.” He rubbed his hands together. “Where do you want me to start?”
That got him a slightly stronger smile. “I want you to grab a chair and make yourself comfortable.” She was sliding off the bar stool as she spoke. “I’m going to make you a healthy breakfast this morning. You’re going to need it. You’ve got a long drive ahead of you.”
He cocked his head to one side. “And while you’re feeding me who’s going to be feeding the hungry hordes who’ll soon be passing through?”
She shook her head. “Nobody. Beaumont’s is still closed. I just got back. Nobody’s expecting me to open today.” She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “And besides, this is the last chance I’ll get to spoil you. You deserve it.” She jerked her head toward the closest table. “Now, sit.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Yes, ma’am.” Then, just like his boss ordered, he sat.
Twenty minutes later Blake placed a tray laden with breakfast food in front of him – flapjacks, grits, bacon and eggs with black coffee and a tall glass of orange juice. As mouth-watering as it looked he’d never been an eater of big breakfasts and what Blake put in front of him would surely weigh him down. “You’re going to share this with me.” It wasn’t a question but a statement of fact and as he spoke he was pulling out the chair beside him.
“Too much for you?” she gave him a teasing smile. “A hard working man like you needs to eat.”
“Not this much,” he said as he rose to pull out her chair properly. “Have a seat.”
When she did, he walked over to the bar and grabbed a glass. When he got back to the table he poured half of his juice into it. “That’s for you.” He slid it in front of her then sat down. “And you’re going to start this off.” He pushed the flapjacks under her nose. “Now get to eating.”